How old is jack and the beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk Origins – Fairy Tale Central
“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the—”
Oh wait—wrong Jack.
Or is it?
“Jack and the Beanstalk” is considered one of many “Jack” tales: stories told about the same trickster-like archetype. According to The Center For Children’s Books, the character “is lucky, both a trickster and an unlikely hero, sometimes clever, often naïve, but always successful.” Considered a staple of Cornish and English folklore, other “Jack” tales include “Jack the Giant Killer,” “Little Jack Horner,” and even “Jack Frost.” (Are they the same person? Well that would make for some interesting retellings!)
While “Jack and the Beanstalk” has a long oral history, the first written version comes from a 1734 publication, Round About our Coal Fire, or “Christmas Entertainments,” where the story is titled “The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean.” Yes, Jack has a last name–at least in this version! And if you’re wondering, the giant’s name is “Gogmagog” (a figure who is, by the way, not relegated solely to Jack’s story; rather, he’s a legendary giant in Welsh folklore). Occasionally, another legendary giant, “Blunderbore,” (who makes an appearance in “Jack the Giant Killer”) stands in as an antagonist in other versions of the tale.
Surprisingly, we don’t see many other written versions of “Jack and the Beanstalk” until 1807. However, the most popular version that most of us are familiar with was published in 1890 in Joseph Jacobs’s English Fairy Tales. Jacobs’s story is based on the oral versions of the story he heard as a child, and as such some scholars believe his version to be the most accurate of the versions published in the nineteenth century (as opposed to, say, the highly moralistic 1807 version from Benjamin Tabart).
But “Jack and the Beanstalk’s” history goes far, far beyond the written word–it has been told orally for hundreds of years! And its origins may reach back even farther than you’d likely expect. According to a recent article from the BBC, researchers at Durham University have classified “Jack and the Beanstalk” as a “Boy Who Stole Ogre’s Treasure” tale, a classification which has origins that could be “traced back to when Eastern and Western Indo-European languages split more than 5,000 years ago. ” Some of these researchers surmise that these tales not only predate languages such as Italian, German, and French, but also Classical mythology!
Evidently, we humans have always relished stories about unlikely heroes!
Sources & further reading:
The Folklore Tradition of the Jack Tales: https://web.archive.org/web/20140410004237/http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/Projects/storytelling/jsthomps/tales.htm
E-copy of “Christmas Entertainments”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Round_about_our_Coal_Fire,_or,_Christmas_Entertainments,_4th_edn,_1734.pdf
BBC News Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35358487
SurlaLune’s history of “Jack and the Beanstalk:” http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/jackbeanstalk/history.html
The Original Story of “Jack and the Beanstalk” Was Emphatically Not for Children
If, like me, you once tried to plant jelly beans in your backyard in the hopes that they would create either a magical jelly bean tree or summon a giant talking bunny, because if it worked in fairy tales it would of course work in an ordinary backyard in Indiana, you are doubtless familiar with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, a tale of almost but not quite getting cheated by a con man and then having to deal with the massive repercussions.
You might, however, be a little less familiar with some of the older versions of the tale—and just how Jack initially got those magic beans.
The story first appeared in print in 1734, during the reign of George II of England, when readers could shill out a shilling to buy a book called Round about our Coal Fire: Or, Christmas Entertainments, one of several self-described “Entertaining Pamphlets” printed in London by a certain J. Roberts. The book contained six chapters on such things as Christmas Entertainments, Hobgoblins, Witches, Ghosts, Fairies, how people were a lot more hospitable and nicer in general before 1734, and oh yes, the tale of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean, and how he became Monarch of the Universe. It was ascribed to a certain Dick Merryman—a name that, given the book’s interest in Christmas and magic, seems quite likely to have been a pseudonym—and is now available in what I am assured is a high quality digital scan from Amazon.com.
(At $18. 75 per copy I didn’t buy it. You can find plenty of low quality digital scans of this text in various places in the internet.)
The publishers presumably insisted on adding the tale in order to assure customers that yes, they were getting their full shilling’s worth, and also, to try to lighten up a text that starts with a very very—did I mention very—lengthy complaint about how nobody really celebrates Christmas properly anymore, by which Dick Merryman means that people aren’t serving up as much fabulous free food as they used to, thus COMPLETELY RUINING CHRISTMAS FOR EVERYONE ELSE, like, can’t you guys kill just a few more geese, along with complaining that people used to be able to pay their rent in kind (that is, with goods instead of money) with the assurance that they’d be able to eat quite a lot of it at Christmas. None of this is as much fun as it sounds, though the descriptions of Christmas games might interest some historians.
Also, this:
As for Puffs in the Corner, that is a very harmless Sport, and one may ramp at it as much as one will; for at this Game when a Man catches his Woman, he may kiss her ’till her Ears crack, or she will be disappointed if she is a Woman of any Spirit; but if it is one who offers at a Struggle and blushes, then be assured she is a Prude, and though she won’t stand a Buss in publick, she’ll receive it with open Arms behind the Door, and you may kiss her ’till she makes your Heart ake.
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….Ok then.
This is all followed by some chatter and about making ladies squeak (not a typo) and what to do if you find two people in bed during a game of hide and seek, and also, hobgoblins, and witches, and frankly, I have to assume that by the time Merryman finally gets around to telling Jack’s tale—page 35—most readers had given up. I know I almost did.
Image from Round about our Coal Fire: Or, Christmas Entertainments (1734)
The story is supposedly related by Gaffer Spiggins, an elderly farmer who also happens to be one of Jack’s relatives. I say, supposedly, in part because by the end of the story, Merryman tells us that he got most of the story from the Chit Chat of an old nurse and the Maggots in a Madman’s brain. I suppose Gaffer Spiggins might be the madman in question, but I think it’s more likely that by the time he finally got to the end, Merryman had completely forgotten the start of his story. Possibly because of Maggots, or more likely because the story has the sense of being written very quickly while very drunk.
In any case, being Jack’s relative is not necessarily something to brag about. Jack is, Gaffer Spiggins assures us, lazy, dirty, and dead broke, with only one factor in his favor: his grandmother is an Enchantress. As the Gaffer explains:
for though he was a smart large boy, his Grandmother and he laid together, and between whiles the good old Woman instructed Jack in many things, and among the rest, Jack (says she) as you are a comfortable Bed-fellow to me —
Cough.
Uh huh.
Anyway. As thanks for being a good bedfellow, the grandmother tells Jack that she has an enchanted bean that can make him rich, but refuses to give him the bean just yet, on the basis that once he’s rich, he will probably turn into a Rake and desert her. It’s just barely possible that whoever wrote this had a few issues with men. The grandmother then threatens to whip him and calls him a lusty boy before announcing that she loves him too much to hurt him. I think we need to pause for a few more coughs, uh huhs and maybe even an AHEM. Fortunately before this can all get even more awkward and uncomfortable (for the readers, that is), Jack finds the bean and plants it, less out of hope for wealth and more from a love of beans and bacon. In complete contrast to everything I’ve ever tried to grow, the plant immediately springs up smacking Jack in the nose and making him bleed. Instead of, you know, TRYING TO TREAT HIS NOSEBLEED the grandmother instead tries to kill him, which, look, I really think we need to have a discussion about some of the many, many unhealthy aspects of this relationship. Jack, however, has no time for that. He instead runs up the beanstalk, followed by his infuriated grandmother, who then falls off the beanstalk, turns into a toad, and crawls into a basement—which seems to be a bit of an overreaction.
In the meantime, the beanstalk has now grown 40 miles high and already attracting various residents, inns, and deceitful landlords who claim to be able to provide anything in the world but when directly asked, admit that they don’t actually have any mutton, veal, or beef on hand. All Jack ends up getting is some beer.
Which, despite being just brewed, must be amazing beer, since just as he drinks it, the roof flies off, the landlord is transformed into a beautiful lady, with a hurried, confusing and frankly not all that convincing explanation that she used to be his grandmother’s cat. As I said, amazing beer. Jack is given the option of ruling the entire world and feeding the lady to a dragon. Jack, sensibly enough under the circumstances, just wants some food. Various magical people patiently explain that if you are the ruler of the entire world, you can just order some food. Also, if Jack puts on a ring, he can have five wishes. It will perhaps surprise no one at this point that he wishes for food, and, after that, clothing for the lady, music, entertainment, and heading to bed with the lady. The story now pauses to assure us that the bed in question is well equipped with chamberpots, which is a nice realistic touch for a fairy tale. In the morning, they have more food—a LOT more food—and are now, apparently, a prince and princess—and, well. There’s a giant, who says:
Fee, fow, fum—
I smell the blood of an English-Man,
Whether he be alive or dead,
I’ll grind his Bones to make my Bread.
I would call this the first appearance of the rather well known Jack and the Beanstalk rhyme, if it hadn’t been mostly stolen from King Lear. Not bothering to explain his knowledge of Shakespeare, the giant welcomes the two to the castle, falls instantly in love with the princess, but lets them fall asleep to the moaning of many virgins. Yes. Really. The next morning, the prince and princess eat again (this is a story obsessed with food), defeat the giant, and live happily ever after—presumably on top of the beanstalk. I say presumably, since at this point the author seems to have entirely forgotten the beanstalk or anything else about the story, and more seems interested in swiftly wrapping things up so he can go and complain about ghosts.
Merryman claimed to have heard portions of this story from an old nurse, presumably in childhood, and the story does have a rather childlike lack of logic to it, particularly as it springs from event to event with little explanation, often forgetting what happened before. The focus on food, too, is quite childlike. But with all of the talk of virgins, bedtricks, heading to bed, sounds made in bed, and violence, not to mention all of the rest of the book, this does not seem to be a book meant for children. Rather, it is a book that looks back nostalgically at a better, happier time—read: prior to the reign of the not overly popular George II of Great Britain. I have no proof that Merryman, whatever his real name was, participated in the Jacobite rebellion that would break out just a couple of years after this book’s publication, but I can say he would have felt at least a small tinge of sympathy, if not more, for that cause. It’s a book that argues that the wealthy are not fulfilling their social responsibilities, that hints darkly that the wealthy can be easily overthrown, and replaced by those deemed socially inferior.
So how exactly did this revolutionary tale get relegated to the nursery?
We’ll chat about that next week.
Mari Ness lives in central Florida.
citation
90,000 Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairy tale. The story of the boy Jack.A tale about a poor widow's son, Jack, who traded his family's only breadwinner, a cow, for magic beans. With the help of them and their ingenuity, Jack and his mother got rich.
Once upon a time there lived a poor widow. She had an only son named Jack and a cow named Belyanka. The cow gave milk every morning, and the mother and son sold it in the bazaar - this is how they lived. But suddenly Belyanka stopped milking, and they simply did not know what to do. nine0003
— How can we be? What to do? the mother repeated in despair.
— Cheer up, mother! Jack said. - I'll get someone to work with.
— Yes, you already tried to get hired, but no one hires you, — answered the mother. “No, apparently, we will have to sell our Belyanka and open a shop with this money.
“Well, okay, Mom,” Jack agreed. - Today is just a market day, and I will quickly sell Belyanka. And then we'll decide what to do.
And Jack took the cow to the market. But he did not have time to go far when he met a funny, funny old man, and he said to him:0003
- Good morning, Jack!
— Good morning to you too! - Jack answered, and was surprised to himself: how does the old man know his name.
— Well, Jack, where are you going? asked the old man.
- To the market, to sell a cow.
— Yes, yes! Who should trade cows if not you! the old man laughed. “Tell me, how many beans do I have?”
- Exactly two in each hand and one in your mouth! - answered Jack, apparently, not a small mistake.
- That's right! said the old man. “Look, here are those beans!” And the old man showed Jack some strange beans. “Since you’re so smart,” the old man continued, “I’m not averse to trading with you—I’m giving these beans for your cow!” nine0003
— Go on your way! Jack got angry. “That would be better!”
"Uh, you don't know what beans are," said the old man. “Plant them in the evening, and by morning they will grow to the sky.
— Yes, well? Truth? Jack was surprised.
- The real truth! And if not, take your cow back.
- Coming! - Jack agreed, gave the old man Belyanka, and put the beans in his pocket.
Jack turned back home, and since he did not have time to go far from home, it was not dark yet, and he was already at his door. nine0003
- Are you back yet, Jack? mother was surprised. - I see Belyanka is not with you, so you sold her? How much did they give you for it?
— You'll never guess, Mom! Jack answered.
— Yes, well? Oh my good! Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? Well, twenty something will not give!
- I said - you can't guess! What can you say about these beans? They are magical. Plant them in the evening and...
— What?! cried Jack's mother. “Are you really such a simpleton that you gave my Belyanka, the most milking cow in the whole area, for a handful of some bad beans?” It is for you! It is for you! It is for you! And your precious beans will fly out the window. So that! Now live to sleep! And don’t ask for food, you won’t get it anyway - not a piece, not a sip! nine0003
And then Jack went up to his attic, to his little room, sad, very sad: he angered his mother, and he himself was left without supper. Finally, he did fall asleep.
And when he woke up, the room seemed very strange to him. The sun illuminated only one corner, and everything around remained dark, dark. Jack jumped out of bed, dressed and went to the window. And what did he see? What a strange tree! And these are his beans, which his mother threw out of the window into the garden the day before, sprouted and turned into a huge bean tree. It stretched all the way up, up and up to the sky. It turns out that the old man was telling the truth! nine0003
The beanstalk grew just outside Jack's window and went up like a real staircase. So Jack had only to open the window and jump onto the tree. And so he did. Jack climbed the beanstalk and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed until he finally reached the sky. There he saw a long and wide road, as straight as an arrow. I went along this road and kept walking, walking and walking, until I came to a huge, huge tall house. And at the threshold of this house stood a huge, enormous, tall woman. nine0003
— Good morning, ma'am! Jack said very politely. “Be so kind as to give me breakfast, please!”
After all, the day before Jack had been left without supper, you know, and now he was as hungry as a wolf.
— Would you like to have breakfast? - said a huge, enormous, tall woman. “You yourself will get another for breakfast if you don’t get out of here!” My husband is a giant and a cannibal, and he loves nothing more than boys fried in breadcrumbs.
— Oh, madame, I beg you, give me something to eat! Jack didn't hesitate. “I haven’t had a crumb in my mouth since yesterday morning. And it doesn't matter if they fry me or I'll die of hunger. nine0003
Well, the ogre's wife was not a bad woman after all. So she took Jack to the kitchen and gave him a piece of bread and cheese and a jug of fresh milk. But before Jack had time to finish with half of all this, when suddenly - top! Top! Top! - the whole house even shook from someone's steps.
- Oh my God! Yes, that's my old man! gasped the giantess. - What to do? Hurry, hurry, jump over here!
And just as she pushed Jack into the oven, the ogre himself entered the house.
Well, he was really great! Three calves dangled from his belt. He untied them, threw them on the table and said:
— Come on, wife, fry me a couple for breakfast! Wow! What does it smell like?
Fi-fi-fo-foot,
I smell the spirit of the British here.
Whether he is dead or alive,
Will go to my breakfast.
— What are you, hubby! his wife told him. - You've got it. Or maybe it smells like that lamb that you liked so much yesterday at dinner. Come on, wash your face and change, and in the meantime I will prepare breakfast. nine0003
The ogre came out and Jack was about to get out of the oven and run away, but the woman wouldn't let him.
“Wait until he falls asleep,” she said. He always likes to take a nap after breakfast.
And so the giant had breakfast, then went to a huge chest, took out two sacks of gold from it and sat down to count the coins. He counted and counted, finally began to nod off and began to snore so that the whole house began to shake again.
Then Jack slowly got out of the oven, tiptoed past the sleeping ogre, grabbed one bag of gold and God bless! — straight to the beanstalk. He dropped the bag down into his garden, and he began to descend the stem, lower and lower, until at last he found himself at home. nine0003
Jack told his mother about everything, showed her a bag of gold and said:
— Well, Mom, did I tell the truth about these beans? You see, they are really magical!
“I don’t know what these beans are,” answered the mother, “but as for the cannibal, I think it’s the one who killed your father and ruined us!”
And I must tell you that when Jack was only three months old, a terrible ogre appeared in their area. He grabbed anyone, but especially did not spare the kind and generous people. And Jack's father, although he was not rich himself, always helped the poor and the losers. nine0003
“Oh, Jack,” the mother finished, “to think that the cannibal could eat you too!” Don't you dare climb that stem ever again!
Jack promised, and they lived with their mother in full contentment with the money that was in the bag.
But in the end the bag was empty, and Jack, forgetting his promise, decided to try his luck at the top of the beanstalk one more time. One fine morning he got up early and climbed the beanstalk. He climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, until he finally found himself on a familiar road and reached along it to a huge, enormous tall house. Like last time, a huge, enormous, tall woman was standing at the threshold. nine0003
“Good morning, ma'am,” Jack told her as if nothing had happened. “Be so kind as to give me something to eat, please!”
- Get out of here, little boy! the giantess replied. “Or my husband will eat you at breakfast.” Uh, no, wait a minute, aren't you the youngster who came here recently? You know, on that very day my husband missed one sack of gold.
— These are miracles, ma'am! Jack says. “True, I could tell you something about it, but I’m so hungry that until I eat at least a piece, I won’t be able to utter a word. nine0003
The giantess was so curious that she let Jack into the house and gave him something to eat. And Jack deliberately began to chew slowly, slowly. But suddenly - top! Top! Top! they heard the steps of the giant, and the kind woman again hid Jack in the furnace.
Everything happened just like last time. The ogre came in and said: “Fi-fi-fo-foot…” and so on, had breakfast with three roasted bulls, and then ordered his wife:
- Wife, bring me a chicken - the one that lays the golden eggs!
The giantess brought it, and he said to the hen: “Come on!” And the hen laid a golden egg. Then the cannibal began to nod and began to snore so that the whole house shook. nine0003
Then Jack slowly got out of the oven, grabbed the golden hen and was out the door in no time. But then the hen cackled and woke up the ogre. And just as Jack was running out of the house, he heard the giant's voice behind him:
— Wife, leave the golden hen alone! And the wife answered:
- Why are you, my dear!
That's all Jack could hear. He rushed with all his might to the beanstalk and almost flew down it.
Jack returned home, showed his mother the miracle chicken and shouted: "Go!" And the hen laid a golden egg. nine0003
Since then, every time Jack told her, "Rush!" The hen laid a golden egg.
Mother scolded Jack for disobeying her and going to the cannibal again, but she still liked the chicken.
And Jack, a restless guy, after a while decided to try his luck again at the top of the beanstalk. One fine morning he got up early and climbed the beanstalk.
He climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed until he reached the very top. True, this time he acted more carefully and did not go straight to the cannibal's house, but crept up slowly and hid in the bushes. I waited until the giantess came out with a bucket for water, and darted into the house! I climbed into the copper cauldron and waited. He didn’t wait long, suddenly he hears the familiar “top! Top! Top!", and now the ogre and his wife enter the room. nine0003
- Fi-fi-fo-foot, I smell the spirit of the British here! shouted the cannibal. “I can smell it, wife!”
— Can you really hear it, hubby? says the giantess. “Well, then, this is the tomboy who stole your gold and the goose with golden eggs. He's probably in the oven.
And both rushed to the stove. Good thing Jack wasn't hiding there!
- Always you with your fi-fi-fo-foot! grumbled the ogre's wife, and began preparing breakfast for her husband.
The ogre sat down at the table, but still could not calm down and kept mumbling:
— Still, I can swear that… — He jumped up from the table, rummaged through the pantry, and chests, and sideboards…
He searched all the corners, only he didn’t guess to look into the copper cauldron. Finally finished breakfast and shouted:
- Hey, wife, bring me a golden harp! The wife brought the harp and put it on the table.
- Sing! the giant ordered the harp.
And the golden harp sang so well that you will hear it! And she sang and sang until the ogre fell asleep and snored like thunder. nine0003
It was then that Jack lightly lifted the lid of the cauldron. He got out of it quietly, quietly, like a mouse, and crawled on all fours to the very table. He climbed onto the table, grabbed the harp, and rushed to the door.
But the harp called loudly:
— Master! Master!
The ogre woke up and immediately saw Jack running away with his harp.
Jack ran headlong, and the giant followed him. It cost him nothing to catch Jack, but Jack was the first to run, and therefore he managed to dodge the giant. And besides, he knew the road well. When he reached the bean tree, the ogre was only twenty paces away. And suddenly Jack was gone. Cannibal here, there - no Jack! Finally, he thought to look at the beanstalk and sees: Jack is trying with his last strength, crawling down. The giant was afraid to go down the shaky stalk, but then the harp called again:0003
- Master! Master!
And the giant just hung on the beanstalk, and the beanstalk trembled all under its weight.
Jack descends lower and lower, and the giant follows him. But now Jack is right above the house. Then he screams:
- Mom! Mother! Bring the ax! Bring the ax!
Mother ran out with an ax in her hands, rushed to the beanstalk, and froze in horror: huge legs of a giant stuck out of the clouds.
But then Jack jumped down to the ground, grabbed an ax and hacked at the beanstalk so hard that he almost cut it in half. nine0003
The ogre felt the stalk swaying and shaking and stopped to see what had happened. Here Jack strikes with an ax again and completely cuts the beanstalk. The stalk swayed and collapsed, and the ogre fell to the ground and twisted his neck.
Jack gave his mother a golden harp, and they began to live without grieve. And they did not remember about the giant.
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Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk Legends of Old England Edwin Heartland
Long ago, in a village far, far away from London, a poor widow lived for many years.
The widow had only one child named Jack, and she indulged his every whim. This led to the fact that Jack almost did not pay attention to her exhortations and grew up carefree and wasteful. He did stupid things not because of his bad temper, but because his mother never reproached him. Since the widow was not rich, and her son did not work, she had to slowly sell everything they had. Finally, they had only one cow left. nine0003
At this point, the widow could not resist reproach and with tears in her eyes said to Jack: “Oh, you nasty boy. Because of your extravagance, we are completely ruined. You are crazy, you are crazy. I don't even have money for a piece of bread. We have nothing left but the poor cow, and we will have to sell it so as not to die of hunger.
Jack felt sorry for his mother, but soon became the same again, and when he was very hungry, he began to persuade the poor thing to let him sell the cow. And the mother reluctantly relented in the end. nine0003
On the way to the market, Jack met a butcher who asked him why he was taking the cow out of the house. Jack replied that he wanted to sell it. The butcher had some beautiful colorful beans with him, which attracted Jack's attention. The butcher noticed this, and, knowing the guy well, decided to take advantage of his frivolity: he offered all the beans for the cow. The stupid guy found the offer very profitable. The deal was immediately closed, the cow was exchanged for a few miserable beans. Jack hurried home, told his mother about the deal, and showed her the beans. She threw the beans away in anger, and they scattered across the garden in all directions. nine0003
Jack woke up early in the morning and saw something very strange outside the window. He hurried into the garden and saw that the beans had taken root and produced wonderful sprouts of immense thickness. The stems are so tightly intertwined that they form something like a ladder.
Looking up, Jack couldn't see the summit as it was lost in the clouds. Jack tried to shake the stem, but it didn't even move, it was so powerful. The guy had a new idea: climb the beanstalk and see where it takes him. Jack liked this idea so much that he even forgot about the hunger and hurried to tell his mother about his intention. nine0003
Then he climbed up the stem and climbed for several hours. He reached the top tired, almost exhausted. Looking around, Jack was surprised to realize that he was in an unfamiliar country, similar to a completely barren desert: nowhere was a tree, a bush, a house, or a living being to be seen.
Jack was sitting on a stone thinking about his mother. Hunger overwhelmed him, and the young man regretted his disobedience, that he had climbed the beanstalk against her will. And now he was waiting for starvation. nine0003
Still, he set off, hoping to find a house and ask for some food. Suddenly he noticed in some distance a beautiful young woman. She was dressed very beautifully and held in her hand a white stick with a solid gold cockerel at the end. The beauty approached Jack and said: “I will tell the story that your mother did not dare to tell you. But first, solemnly promise to do whatever I command. I am a fairy, and if you do not follow my orders exactly, you will deprive me of my magical power, and I will not be able to help you. And you will most likely die." Jack was greatly frightened by this warning, but promised to follow the orders of the fairy. nine0003
“Your father was rich and very generous. He never refused to help his neighbors, on the contrary, he was looking for helpless and desperate people. Not far from your father's house lived a huge giant who, with his cruelty, instilled fear in the whole country. This monster was also very envious and did not like it when others were praised for their kindness and decency, and therefore the giant swore to take revenge on your father so that he would no longer hear about his good deeds. Your father was so noble that he did not expect evil from others, so soon the cruel giant found an opportunity to realize his evil plans. Hearing that in a few days your parents would be passing near his palace, he set it up so that your father was ambushed and killed, and your mother was captured on the way to the house. nine0003
You were only a few months old when all this happened. Your poor mother almost died of fear when the cruel giant's henchmen threw her into a dungeon in a dungeon under his house. She spent a lot of time with the child in custody. Alarmed by the absence of your parents, the servants went searching, but found no trace of the missing. In the meantime, the giant made it so that a false will was found, and all the property of your father passed to him as your guardian. nine0003
After that, your mother spent a few more months in an underground dungeon, and then the giant offered her freedom if she solemnly swears never to tell anyone about her trials. And so that she - if she suddenly breaks the oath - could not harm him, he ordered to put her on a ship and take her to a distant country. There she was left without a livelihood, and she lived only on the proceeds from the sale of jewelry, which she managed to hide in her dress.
When your father was born, I was appointed as his protector, but fairies have laws that they must obey, just like mere mortals. Shortly before the giant killed your father, I broke the law and was deprived of my magical power for a while. Because of this, unfortunately, I could not help your father in any way, although I wanted it more than anything in the world. The day you were going to sell the cow and you met the butcher, I got my magic power back. I was the one who secretly told you to take the beans in exchange for the cow. It is because of my power that the beanstalk grew so high and formed a staircase. The giant lives in this country, and it is you who are destined to punish him for all his atrocities. Dangers and difficulties await you, but you must persevere and avenge your father's death, or you will never succeed in anything. nine0003
As for the giant's riches, they all belong to you by right, although you have been deprived of them until now. So you can take as much as you can carry. However, be careful, for the giant loves gold so much that, as soon as he notices the loss, he becomes angry and will guard it even better in the future. But you must still pursue him, for only by cunning will you be able to overcome him and seize your wealth and justly punish the giant for the barbaric murder. I only ask of you one thing: do not tell your mother that you know everything about your father until you meet me again. nine0003
Go straight, don't turn anywhere, and soon you will see the palace where your sworn enemy lives. As long as you do everything as I say, I will protect and keep you. But remember, if you disobey my orders, a terrible punishment awaits you.
With that, the fairy disappeared and Jack set off again. He walked until sunset, and suddenly, to his great joy, he saw a large palace. Cheered up, he quickened his pace and soon approached the palace. An attractive woman was standing at the door. Jack spoke to her kindly and asked if she would give him a piece of bread and give him shelter for the night. The woman was very surprised at the appearance of Jack and said how strange it was to see a stranger here, for everyone knows that her husband is a very cruel and powerful giant, and besides, he eats people when he manages to catch them. nine0003
Jack was very frightened, but, remembering his fairy protector, he hoped to elude the giant and begged the woman to let him in for one night only and hide him where she considered safe. The kind woman finally agreed, for she was very compassionate, and let Jack into the house.
First they got into a huge, beautifully furnished hall, then they passed several spacious and equally majestic rooms, which seemed, however, completely abandoned. Then they found themselves in a long, very dark gallery, where instead of walls there were iron bars. Beyond the gratings stretched a gloomy dungeon, from which came the groans of the unfortunate victims, reserved by the giant in case he had an appetite. Poor Jack was horrified, thinking that he would never see his mother again and end his life in the stomach of a giant. However, he still remembered the fairy and kept a faint hope in his heart. nine0003
A kind woman took Jack to a spacious kitchen, where a fire was burning under a huge cauldron, sat him down and gave him a good meal and drink. Satisfied, Jack enjoyed the rest, but suddenly they began to knock on the gate, so loudly that the whole house trembled. Jack hid in the oven, and the giant's wife hurried to let her husband into the house.
Jack heard the giant's thunderous voice:
- Wife! Wife! I smell fresh human flesh!
“Oh, dear,” answered the wife. “It is the smell of those people who are in prison. nine0003
The giant seemed to believe and sat down by the fire, while his wife began to prepare dinner for him.
Jack slowly grew bolder and looked at the monster through a small crack. His amazement knew no bounds when he saw how much food and drink the giant absorbs. It seemed like he would never get enough. But in the end, the dinner was over, and a very funny chicken appeared on the table in front of the giant. And then a miracle happened. The hen stood calmly in front of the giant, and every time he said: “Rush!” The hen laid an egg of pure gold. The giant's wife had long since gone to bed, and he played with his chicken for a long time. At last he too fell asleep and snored as if a cannon had been fired. At dawn, while the giant was still asleep, Jack got out of his hiding place, grabbed the chicken and rushed away with her as fast as he could. nine0003
Jack easily found his way to the beanstalk, and the descent was easier and faster than he expected. The mother was very happy to see her son. “You see, mother,” said Jack, “I brought home something that will make you rich.” The hen laid as many golden eggs as they wanted, and they sold the eggs and soon became rich.
Jack and his mother lived very happily for several months, but Jack was eager to visit the giant again. Early one morning, he climbed the beanstalk again and reached the giant's palace late in the evening. The woman, as before, stood at the door. Jack told her a pitiful story and asked for a place to sleep. The woman said that she somehow sheltered a poor hungry boy, and an ungrateful scumbag stole one of the giant's treasures, and now he treats her very badly. Nevertheless, the woman led Jack into the kitchen, fed him dinner and hid it in the closet where the firewood was stored. Soon the giant returned home, had supper and ordered his wife to bring sacks of gold and silver. Jack peeped from his hiding place and saw how the giant counted his treasures, and then put them back into the bags. At last the giant fell asleep and began to snore, as before. Jack quietly got out of his hiding place and approached the giant, but suddenly a small dog barked furiously under the chair. However, the giant did not wake up, and the dog calmed down. Jack grabbed the bags, made it safely to the door, and was soon standing at the foot of the beanstalk. When he entered his mother's house, he did not find anyone there. Surprised, he ran to the village, and one old woman showed him the house where his mother lay dying. Hearing that our hero returned safe and sound, his mother regained her zest for life and soon recovered. Then Jack gave her two bags of gold and silver. nine0003
Everything would be fine, but Jack's mother felt that something was eating him and tried to find out the reason, but Jack remembered very well what would happen if he told about the reason for his sadness. He struggled to overcome the urge to take another trip up the beanstalk.
On the longest day of the year, Jack woke up at dawn, climbed the beanstalk and effortlessly made it to the top. He found his way, and towards evening reached the giant's palace, and, as before, saw his wife at the door. Jack changed his appearance so much that the woman did not recognize him. However, when he began to ask for a lodging for the night, he convinced her with great difficulty. In the end, the woman allowed him to enter and hid him in a copper cauldron. nine0003
Returning home, the giant growled as usual: “Wife! Wife! I smell fresh human flesh!” Jack had heard it before, so he wasn't afraid. However, the giant suddenly jumped up and, ignoring his wife's exhortations, began to search the kitchen. As he approached, Jack became more and more afraid, cursing himself for having come here, and was ready to die of fear. The giant reached the cauldron and grabbed the lid. Jack decided that his death had come, but, fortunately, at this the giant stopped his search and, without lifting the lid, calmly sat down by the fire. nine0003
After finishing his supper, the giant ordered his wife to bring his harp. Jack peered from under the lid of the cauldron and soon saw the most beautiful sight imaginable. The giant put the harp on the table and said, "Play," and the harp immediately began to play on its own. The music was amazingly beautiful. Jack was delighted and wanted to own the harp even more than the previous treasures.
The giant's soul did not strive for beauty, the music lulled him to sleep, and soon he fell asleep soundly. Moreover, he seemed to be sleeping even more soundly than before, and it was time to take the harp away. Jack made up his mind, got out of the cauldron and grabbed the harp. However, the harp turned out to be enchanted and shouted loudly: “Master, master!” nine0003
The giant woke up, jumped up and tried to grab Jack, but he was so drunk that he could not stand up. Jack ran away as fast as he could. Soon the giant came to his senses and hobbled, or rather, wandered, staggering, after Jack. If he had been sober, he would have immediately caught up with Jack, but because he was drunk, Jack managed to get to the top of the beanstalk first.
